PACE Rapporteur Piero Fassino’s Second Visit to Varosha
Amidst the ongoing complexities of the Cyprus problem, Piero Fassino, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s (PACE) rapporteur for Varosha, embarked on his second visit to the city this Wednesday. His trip to Cyprus began on Monday, with high-level meetings including one with President Nikos Christodoulides and House president Annita Demetriou.
During his visit to Varosha, Fassino was accompanied by PACE’s Turkish Cypriot observers Oguzhan Hasipoglu and Armagan Candan, representing the UBP and CTP parties respectively, as well as Famagusta’s Turkish Cypriot mayor Suleyman Ulucay. Fassino’s vision for Varosha is its revival as a “living town,” a goal he believes achievable through mutual agreement between the concerned parties.
Emphasizing the urgency of resolving the Cyprus issue, Fassino advocated for United Nations involvement. Candan, following the visit, shared insights with the Cyprus Mail, revealing that Fassino’s observations are to be documented in a report for PACE’s next assembly in June. While the forthcoming vote on his report will not directly bind member states, it is anticipated that they will regard the findings seriously.
Candan also communicated their position on UN Envoy Maria Angela Holguin’s efforts to reinitiate negotiations and proposed potential facilitative measures towards a resolution, including a three-party or five-party meeting. Despite Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar’s reluctance for such meetings in Holguin’s presence, Candan remains hopeful that they could establish common ground.
Hasipoglu expressed gratitude towards Fassino for considering perspectives from both sides in preparation for his report. Acknowledging potential disagreements with the report’s content, he stressed the importance of PACE’s receptiveness to all viewpoints concerning the Cyprus problem.
Fassino’s itinerary also included discussions with the Immovable Property Commission and Ersin Tatar, and a prior meeting with UN Special Representative Colin Stewart. UN Peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) spokesman Aleem Siddique highlighted Stewart’s dialogue about the UN’s role in Cyprus and Unficyp’s contributions to peacebuilding efforts on the island.
